Chassis builder Jerry Bickel considers the 1969 Chevelle he built for Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson some of his shop’s finest work. It’s hard to argue the point with this Top Sportsman entry that recorded a 6.706 elapsed time at 206.54 miles per hour in the first outing at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals.
“It’s been five years since I’ve raced, very happy with my car,” Snyder-Ellingson said, speaking to the media in Pomona, Ca. “Absolutely love it and really can’t wait till the next race. Beautiful machine by Jerry Bickel chassis and amazing paint. We can’t wait to see the car on track as often as is possible.”
This weekend was the first time Snyder-Ellingson had raced at the Pomona facility since her family’s In-N-Out Burgers brand had taken over as naming rights for the legendary Pomona Fairplex drag strip.
“There’s a lot of car culture within In-N-Out in our history, and I felt like it was really special and honoring my family as well and just knowing that we want to sponsor and be a part of such a sport that’s near and dear to our hearts and my family,” Snyder-Ellingson said.
It was a memory Snyder-Ellingson would likely never forget, turning off a drag strip honoring the family business and in her first race car in five years.
“Just having my beautiful new car at this track looking just so special with all of our signage and everything, the palm trees [was a special experience],” Snyder-Ellingson said. “We have a lot of fans here, a lot of race fans, a lot of new race fans because of In-N-Out’s involvement. I think them just seeing the car was special for a lot of our In-N-Out family too. I really love that we’re bringing more fans to drag racing too because In-N-Out has quite a following around these parts, and there’s a lot of people that want to see [drag racing].”
The race fans saw drag racing, and they saw Snyder-Ellingson do it in an automotive work of art.
The 2,200-pound masterpiece features a carbon fiber body mounted on a Bickel Pro Nitrous chassis. It comes complete with the Bickel 2.00 Pro Sway Bar System and his Extreme Duty Wishbone Assembly. The 112-inch wheelbase features a Bickel-fabricated 11” sheet metal floater rearend housing with a Lamb / 9.5 Mark Williams third-member assembly. It has
PRS Penske air-assisted Double Adjustable Rear Shocks with Eibach Springs
Snyder-Ellison is housed in a Funny car cage complete with a titanium Funny Car Cage Driver Shield and a Simpson 7-point Platinum seat belts. There is an ISP pour-in seat.
This beauty rolls on Weld V-Series front wheels with a custom copper finish and Hoosier 25.00 frontrunners and 16 x 16 Weld Delta with custom copper finish and Hoosier 34.50 slicks. Jerry Bickel built the titanium wheelie bars.
Of course, the custom paint is from Jeff Hoskins Body Work, Paint, and Custom Air Brush Work.
As most business people readily understand, making a first impression can make a huge difference in almost all situations. For Snyder-Ellingson, her new Chevelle did just that.
